The Coast Guard released video Wednesday of a five-plus-hour mission to rescue a 65-year-old woman whose sailboat ran aground during a Great Lakes sailing race.
The woman, who wasn't identified, was carried to shore on an island in the Straits of Mackinac — which separates the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan — after several failed attempts to airlift her from her stricken boat, the Coast Guard said. From there, she was hoisted into a rescue helicopter and taken to an airport where emergency workers were waiting to take her to a hospital for evaluation.
The ordeal occurred Tuesday during the annual Chicago to Mackinac Solo Sailing Challenge, a 287-mile race through the straits that connect lakes Michigan and Huron. The Coast Guard got a call about 4:30 a.m. ET from the skipper saying her 35-foot sailboat had become grounded near Round Island.
The first rescue boat on the scene couldn't reach her despite several attempts because of shallow surf and 3-foot seas. So the Coast Guard sent an air crew from Air Station Traverse City, which arrived at 7:50 a.m. But its helicopter developed mechanical problems and had to divert.
A second air crew arrived about 9:40 a.m., but the pilot decided it was too dangerous to pull the skipper up directly from her boat. So the chopper lowered a rescue swimmer who carried the woman through the 50-degree water to safety.
"This case may have had a different outcome had the skipper not been as prepared as she was," said Lt. Ludwig Gazvoda, a command duty officer at the Sector Sault Ste. Marie Command Center. "She had a working marine-band radio, as well as a life jacket and cold water gear."
